1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 249 Picking Olives!
Pascal lived on a ridge north of the village of Gold.

According to Thomas, who had been here once, Pascal also lived in his own olive grove.

The last time he came was in September.

As soon as he opened the door of Pascal's house, he saw the olive leaves all over the mountains sparkling in the sun under the blue sky. He thought it was so beautiful that he also wanted to plant an olive grove.

Cotillard joked, your father is so rich, wouldn’t it be easy for him to get you an olive grove?

Thomas smiled and touched his nose:
"Even with my father's ability, it would be difficult to build such a large olive grove. It's really too big."

Cotillard said disapprovingly:
"That's fine. Then ask your father to buy you a big house, bigger than Pascal's."

Thomas laughed even more awkwardly:
“That’s difficult too.”

There is a vineyard in front of Ronan's house, and there is an olive grove in front of Pascal's house.

They both live in a garden, but Ronan lives in a small farmhouse, while Pascal lives in a large manor.

The gap between the rich and the poor and the class gap limit Ronan's imagination.

He had a hard time imagining what it would be like if Thomas were to live in a house bigger than Pascal's.

Castle?
Although imagination is limited, dreams have no wings.

Ronan’s first goal after arriving in Provence was to one day own a vast upstream catering resource like Olivier.

Now he has a second clear goal - to live in a luxurious manor as big as Pascal's in the future.

Have a bunch of kids with Zoe and make this place lively every day!
The purpose of Ronan and the other two was to experience picking olives, so after Pascal met them, he took them directly to his boundless olive grove.

At this moment, there are already many workers picking fruits inside.

"You came at the right time. The olives are just starting to be picked this year. You can start to experience them if you walk a little further ahead. If you come a little later, all the olives around here will be picked. You will have to go over there—" Pascal pointed to another hilltop, "Then I won't be able to accompany you."

Pascal changed into a standard Provencal farmer's outfit today.

Maybe I was so happy to see my friends coming that I also wanted to experience what it feels like to be a farmer myself.

"Can't we harvest it at the end of October?" Ronan's agricultural knowledge should be the most profound among the three of them. He immediately noticed something wrong in Pascal's words.

The southern region of France is the most important producing area of olive trees, but the largest and most famous producing area of olive trees is Provence.

Olive trees have been grown in this land since ancient Greek and Roman times.

Grapes, olives and lavender are the 'iron triangle' of Provence's agricultural industry.

As with winemaking, olive growing in Provence has quality seals, with certain areas and olive groves bearing the AOC quality seal, meaning they are top quality.

The olive harvest season is longer than that of grapes, lasting from September to February of the following year.

But depending on the purpose, there will be a suitable picking time.

If you want to make salted olives for consumption, you should pick them in September or October, and green olives that are not fully ripe are the best.

If you want to make pickled black olives, you should pick them in December-January, when the olives are fully ripe and all black.

But Pascual's olives are used to make olive oil, so the best picking months should be from the end of October to December, when the fruits are ripe and the color and taste are perfectly balanced.

Pascal's comment about the recent olive harvest was as surprising to Ronan as the farmers who told him that the grapes of Lourmarin should not be picked until the end of October.

Is this right?

Pascal sighed:

"The olives matured very late this year, which affected the rate at which the oil in the fruit accumulated."

Thomas and Cotillard didn't understand the technical terms, but Ronan did.

What Pascal means is that the amount of olive oil that can be produced this year will be lower.

Ronan was about to say something to comfort Pascal, but this optimistic guy calmed down first and said to everyone with a smile:

"But we can't just expect nature to give us good gifts, just like this northwest wind. The olive trees in Provence survived the disastrous winter of 1956. Next year will definitely be another bumper year!"

Thomas and Cotillard were already eager to go pick olives, and they had no sympathy for this topic. They perfunctorily said a few words to Pascal and happily rushed to the olive grove. However, Ronan, who also depended on the weather for his livelihood, walked behind and asked Pascal:

"What happened to 1956 years?"

Pascal touched the straps of his overalls and said to Ronan with a sigh:
"In February 1956, southern France experienced a devastating frost that damaged 2% of vineyards and 70% of olive groves in Provence. The roots of several traditional varieties were frozen to death, and the gene pool was severely damaged. The surviving farmers switched to planting cold-resistant crops, and the olive oil industry did not gradually recover until the 80s."

He kept shaking his head:

“It was a disaster, but now we have improved the varieties and used drip irrigation systems, and the olive trees are much more resistant to cold weather.”

Ronan said, as if to comfort and pray:
“I hope such a disaster won’t happen again.” Pascal handed Ronan a half-moon shaped bucket and asked him to hang it around his neck.

Pascal explained proudly:

"This is the most time-saving and labor-saving picking method I invented. You will know how useful it is if you try it!"

Thomas and Cotillard are from Provence. This is not their first time picking olives, and they each have their own most time-saving and labor-saving method of picking, so Ronan is the only one who obeys them obediently.

Ronan, like a pregnant woman about to give birth, held the big bucket on his belly and listened to Pascal's subsequent explanation.

"It is much easier to pick olives from branches than grapes. I describe it as milking a cow. Have you ever milked a cow? It doesn't matter if you haven't," Pascal demonstrated in person. "Use your fingers to gently pull down along the branch, and remember to yourself - don't hurt it."

"Bang, bang, bang, bang--" a series of olives fell into the bucket with a crackling sound.

Pascal spread his hands with satisfaction:

"See, it's easy, right? Especially with the most time-saving and labor-saving picking method I invented, you don't even need to bend your waist."

In fact, there is a more time-saving and labor-saving method of picking.

Ronan and his two companions came here for the experience, so they used the ancient manual picking method.

Pascal's other employees simply use rakes to peel the olives off the branches, let them fall onto a net spread on the ground, then gently lift the net and throw the olives into the container.

Having experienced picking grapes under the scorching sun, Ronan feels that picking olives can be described as a "leisure activity".

It doesn't require too much physical effort, the weather is not too hot, and if there is no damn strong wind, Ronan can even pick olives elegantly with one hand holding the wine glass and the other hand.

That would be so cool!

The olives in this season come in a variety of colors, from dark to light, and are quite pleasing to the eye.

However, Ronan soon discovered that this "leisure activity" also had its annoying side - as the number of olives in the barrel increased, his neck could no longer hold on.

This does save time and effort, but it's a pain in the neck.
Ronan turned his head to look at Pascal behind him.

Wanted to find out how he solved his neck pain problem.

But Pascal did not encounter this problem. The bucket on his neck was placed on his unusually large belly, which should have relieved the considerable weight on his neck.

It happened that Thomas and Cotillard were also "tired of playing" at this time, and shouted that they wanted to go back to wash their hands, and saved Ronan's neck in time.

After they reminded him, Ronan discovered that his fingers had a strange touch, and his palms seemed to become as delicate and smooth as a woman's hands.

Pascal smiled and said:
"That's the oil that oozes out of the fruit. If you take a bath with the oil squeezed from them, your whole body will be so smooth. Come on, wash your hands, and then I'll take you to the olive oil mill to see."

Archaeological discoveries indicate that olive oil production dates back to at least 500 BC, and in the Middle Ages, olive oil was as valuable as currency, used in trade, and regarded as a symbol of wealth and health.

Due to the impact of the frost in 1956, the olive industry in Provence was hit hard. It has only started to restart in recent years, and fortunately this industry, which has existed since Roman times, has continued.

But in Paris, olive oil is considered a 'luxury'.

The production of domestic olive oil in France is low, accounting for only about 5% of the Paris market. Imported olive oils from Spain, Italy and Greece cost 150 francs a bottle, and extra virgin can be sold for three or four hundred francs. The Ronan family would only use a few drops when mixing salads.

But after arriving in Provence, olive oil became a 'consumable'.

They cook, grill, make salads, dip bread, and even the Ronans imitate the Provencals and drink a small cup before the party to protect their stomach walls.

In Provence supermarkets, imported olive oil from Spain, Italy and Greece is still sold at a very high price, but Provencal people never buy that.

All we usually use is 'no name' olive oil produced in the local mill.

Even Pascal's olive oil mill, which is known as one of the best in Gordes, produces unbranded olive oil.

In this small mill filled with fragrance, Pascal gave each of Ronan and the other two a large plastic bucket without any label. That was the container for the extra virgin olive oil extracted from the olives they had picked.

"The picked olives must be sent to the oil mill as soon as possible to prevent fermentation and increase in acidity." Pascal explained professionally, "But you may have to wait a while before you can get your 'fruits'."

Cotillard was a person who couldn't sit still. She felt very stupid waiting with a big bucket in her hand. She looked at Ronan and Thomas and asked:
"Shall we go out for a walk and come back to get it later?"

Pascal's mill is in the village of Gordes. There are so many things here that attract Cotillard, and on the way, Pascal said that he would take care of some work matters later.

"Okay." Thomas nodded.

Ronan put down the bucket and left with Cotillard and the others, but was stopped by Pascal behind him:
"Ronan, you should stay here and wait for a while."

Ronan turned around and looked over in confusion.

Pascal glanced at his watch:
"Llorente is coming to buy a batch of oil. It should be here soon."

(End of this chapter)